Our Story

1880

Brothers John and Charles Eastick begin a sugar analysis and consulting practice.

1882

Impressed by their ground-breaking work, Abram Lyle invites the Eastick brothers to set up a lab at his new Plaistow Wharf refinery.

1883

Charles begins to experiment with the by-products of the sugar refining process.

1885

Golden Syrup is packed into the first metal tins.

1890

The brothers seek new adventures.

1914

As Britain edges closer to war, Charles is helping others.

1919

Sugar refineries are struggling and fast becoming part of history.

1928

Charles keeps inventing…

1930

Charles merges companies to produce inverted sugars.

1930s

Charles’ two sons join the company.

1939

WWII has started and Charles needs to find an alternative to fruit.

1940s

Douglas serves his country in WWII

1950

The demand for sugars soar and grandsons Barrington and Ronald take over.

1961

Bernard and Fredrick sell their shares in Martineaus and Manbré & Garton take over.

1970

Workforce almost doubled after Ragus started selling Refined White and Raw sugar.

1978

Ragus is now the UK’s last independent sugar manufacturer.

1990

James, Peter and Benjamin continue their great-grandfathers hard work.

2010’s

The tens see further focus on bulk, as more global brands become customers.

2013

Ragus has gone international.

2013

A new factory for distributing to customers globally.

2017

Henry Eastick joins.

2017

1880

The origins of pure sugars expertise

Brothers John and Charles Eastick, excited by sugar’s recent rise into ubiquity to British life, begin a sugar analysis and consulting practice in the centre of London.

1882

Ground-breaking work

Impressed by their ground-breaking work, Abram Lyle invites the Eastick brothers to set up a lab at his new Plaistow Wharf refinery.

1883

The birth of a legend – Golden Syrup

Tough times bring sugar production to a near halt. But Charles begins to experiment with the by-products of the sugar refining process. Golden syrup is born.

1885

Product and packaging innovation

The new sugar product, golden syrup, is packed for the first time into what would become to be iconic metal tins.

1890

A focus on refining production processes

The brothers seek new adventures. John leaves to oversee the Bundaberg sugar cane plantations in Australia; Charles runs production at the Martineaus’ Whitechapel refinery, in the heart of London’s sugar industry.

1914

Sugar supply is maintained during wartime

Britain edges closer to war. Charles’ attention is drawn to helping others and he devotes his time to sugar rationing. Later he will receive an MBE for services to his country.

1919

The Eastick family survives industry consolidation

Sugar refineries are struggling and fast becoming part of history as they consolidate. Yet Charles and his family’s 11 sugar refining patents, along with their hard work, allow theirs to thrive.

1928

The origins of Ragus begin in Slough

Charles’ enthusiasm and invention never wanes. He begins to make specialist sugars and fruit-based goods in a dedicated factory he has built in Slough, west of London: the precursor to the first Ragus factory.

1930

Production innovation continues with invert sugars

Charles merges the factory with another of his companies to produce inverted sugars: a sweeter, moist sugar perfect for baking. This merged operation will become the Ragus we are today.

1930s

A second generation of the Eastick family joins the business

Sugar continues to run in the family. Charles’ two sons join him: Douglas at Ragus and Fredrick as MD at Martineaus, where Charles remains involved.

1939

Golden syrup drives innovation

WWII is brewing and fruit, now the cornerstone of Charles’ refinery, is no longer available. This sparks invention, with a honey alternative made from crystallized golden syrup.

1940s

Maintaining wartime sugar supplies

Douglas serves his country in WWII, his role in charge of the RAF air balloons over Felixstowe docks where the sugar is making its way into the port.

1950

Growth and a third generation of Easticks

A period of intense change as the demand for sugar soars. Grandsons Barrington and Ronald take over Ragus and introduce crystallised candy feed for apiaries and crystallised animal feed for farms.

1961

Consolidating the family’s sugar interests

Bernard and Fredrick sell their shares in Martineaus and Manbré & Garton take over.

1970

Product diversification drives growth

Ragus begins to sell large quantities of refined white and raw sugar and the workforce almost doubles as a result.

1978

Ragus reaches it’s 50th birthday

Ragus is now the UK’s last independent sugar manufacturer. We celebrate family ownership with our golden jubilee.

1990

A fourth generation of the Eastick family takes over

Ronald and Barry retire. The great-grandsons of Charles, James, Peter and Benjamin, continue their great-grandfather’s hard work.

2010’s

Quality and customer service underpin growth

The tens see further focus on bulk sourcing and sales of products such as treacles and molasses, as more global household food and beverage brands join as customers.

2013

Full-service international operation

Benjamin, James and Peter develop Ragus from being largely UK-focused into a full-service international operation.

2013

A new factory underpins global operations

The new multi-million-pound state-of-the-art factory manufactures industrial quantities of pure sugar products, distributing to customers all over the world every day.

2017

A new generation with new responsibilities

In October 2017, Henry Eastick – Peter’s son and Charles’ great-great-grandson – joins as CSR Manager. His role is to champion his generation’s passion for even greater responsibility when doing business in global society.

1880

2017

Our expert team today

Providing leading customer support to industry, responsibly sourcing sugars, production of pure sugar products and final delivery. As a manufacturer ourselves we understand the importance of fulfilling orders on-time, to specification and in full.

Sourcing is at the heart of our business

Sourcing the world’s responsibly grown and processed primary cane and beet sugars from African, Asia Pacific, Caribbean, European and South American approved suppliers.

Bulk manufacturing expertise

Our expert factory team manufactures high volumes of pure sugar syrups and crystallines at our advanced production facility, using custom-engineered plant and machinery. We rigorously quality test every batch of pure sugars in our production laboratory, ensuring we meet consistency and product specifications for the best performance in the final applications.

Seamless supply chain

Delivery is the final stage of the sugar beet and sugarcane journey. Sourced from our suppliers and manufactured into pure sugars, our products go to our customers in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries.

95 years of unique knowledge

Everything we’ve learned – from our historic roots in 1880 as a sugar analysis and consulting practice to the advanced research our specialists in the development laboratory carry out today – gives us truly unique knowledge.

Ethical standards

Our approach to responsible sourcing and traceability reflects 95 years of heritage as an independent business, procuring natural cane and beet sugars.

Read about our standards

How we deliver

From our advanced UK production facility, we deliver pure sugars in bulk to our industrial food and beverages and pharmaceutical customers.

Discover what we do

Our process

Innovation at Ragus

Our heritage